Fine then :]
Here's a list of rules I was following when I was making those Loading Screens:
TECHNICALS (SETTINGS):
1. my base screenshots were made in wide-screen resolution like 1280x720 / 1360x768 / 1600x900 etc.
I suggest that you give it a try to run the game in such resolution. Things can look really nicely even while you don't have wide-screen CRT or LCD. Well, even virtual chicks which have body from Growlf look rather slim here O_^
Anyway, If you can't (or don't want to) run the game wide-screen then if you take screenshot make sure that it has much "useless" space at the top or at the bottom or slightly less useless space from both of these sides. Because when I convert such screenshot to Loading Screen it will be cropped from one or two sides. And wide-screenshots aren't cropped here.
2. Anti-Aliasing ON / HDR possibly OFF
Try to avoid screenshots with completely white areas. Sometimes Bloom and HDR produce white spots (especially around the sun) and those are bad things for loading screens. Look at
this example. That's somehow nice screenshot but it turns into ugly loading screen :]
TECHNICALS (IN GAME):
1.
The light. Better are brighter shots (with fog I mean) than darker. Possibly with high contrast (some parts very dark, some very bright but not white! ;p). The best light is usually at 6-9 a.m (at morning) and 5-8 p.m (at evening) for cloudy weather and the whole day for fog ;] (You may want to notice how time of the day changes light when the weather is foggy - the same place can be completely different in morning's mist from evening's fog.
2. Weather. Some of the best Loading screens were made from fog :]
sample ;] I also find quite nice cloudy pictures made in the evening and morning. I have only few loading screens that were made during middle of the day or night. And most of nice shots were made outdoors. Indoor shots must have high contrast! (eg. rather dark room with very bright candle)
3. Characters. Well, it may seem quite orthodoxy for some of you ;] but no wings, FF7 weapons, jedi swords, moogles, balrogs and guns or else. Well, I'm not that much TES lore-friendly but don't want to follow quite an opposite way as well. I think you catch my drift here ;]
4. The best looking shots are with visible sky or with fog. Please avoid pictures in the forest without the fog or visible sky - those don't look so good on loading screens.
5. Theme. Preferably pictures with characters than scenic shots. But if you take a shot of some nice surroundings it will be a nice addition anyway.
If you make pictures with characters try not to focus on that character so much. The best options are when the whole PC or
NPC is visible and is not in the center of the screen. Most welcome additions are the pictures with some sense of humor :]
sample Try to be very creative. I expect best of you here ;] ^_^
Well, I think that's enough for now. Probably I have scared all of you with these :]
If something else will come to my mind then I'll share it with you. For now look at
this part of my gallery and notice the weather, light, setups. Maybe it will be helpful for you. Because those screenshots were made especially for my Loading Screens mod and fit it perfectly unlike most of my other shots.
Any questions? Fine. Let's start screenshoting, shall we? :]
Edited by trollf, 30 August 2007 - 01:27 PM.
